


way down under the ground

by chocolatechip



Series: demigod adventures [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Nico is a Dork, References to Hadestown, Will Solace is a Dork, does this count as a character study?, this written in like ten minutes lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocolatechip/pseuds/chocolatechip
Summary: Hades had seen a lot in his long, long life.In which Hades reflects on his life and meets Nico's boyfriend.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Hades, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: demigod adventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766665
Comments: 11
Kudos: 290





	way down under the ground

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if this is not grammatically correct lol i didn't edit it at all haha
> 
> title is from hadestown bc i recently started listening to it and omg it's amazing

Hades had seen a lot in his long, long life.

He had lived so long that he was starting to believe that he was not  _ alive _ so much as a being that could not  _ die _ .

His first memory was sitting in a warm, moist  _ somewhere. _ It was a large cavernous place with icky stuff dripping. Others were sitting with him, and he knew that they were his brothers and sisters.

His next memory was being erupted from the  _ somewhere _ and hurled out of the mouth of his father.

Then the first Titan War.

He remembered that well, though he tried not to.

After ten years the gods won, barely. The three brothers drew straws, and Hades with the shortest became king of the Underworld.

He was still slightly bitter over that. He loved his kingdom dearly, but he wished to spend more time up above. He missed the sun. Alas, that is a different story.

Among his memories, there were some which stood out the most.

One of his fondest memories was how he obtained Cerberus, his beloved pup. His heart ached even now to go out and play with the three-headed dog.

Zeus had found Cerberus after the Titan War and given him to Hades. Hades raised him and loved him, perhaps more than his wife (which he hadn’t met at the time).

(One of Hades’ least favorite memories was Heracules borrowing Cerberus).

Another memory was of a woman from above who was lovely in every way. She was gathering flowers when he opened up the ground and brought her to the Underworld (which, let’s face it, was probably not the best way to get someone to fall in love with you).

When she saw the beauty of down below, Elysium, the tunnels and wide caverns of crystals and wealth, even the Fields of Asphodel could be beautiful sometimes, she warmed up to the king of this realm.

Her given name was Kore but in her time below, she realized that she did not have to be what her mother said and she chose a new name for herself. Persephone.

A memory of love also stood out very much. Not his love, no. A boy of music, the son of Apollo and a Muse, fell in love with a girl. They married and all was well. Until the girl was bitten by a snake and her soul passed to the Underworld. The boy mourned and sang and played his lyre. His father took pity on him and gave the boy his protection. The boy traveled to the Underworld and sang for Hades.

Hades knew he was a fool when he decided to let Orpheus take Eurydice.

Alas, the boy tried his best but he did not follow through. He looked back to see if she was there, and the girl was forever below.

The boy mourned for the rest of his life, singing and wishing for death. He got his wish in the form of Zeus. The king of the gods struck him with a lightning bolt, in fear that he would share secrets of the Underworld to the mortals.

Hades thought that was a little excessive, and that Zeus didn’t have to kill the boy, that the boy should have lived fifty, sixty, seventy more years.

But at least Orpheus and Eurydice were reunited in his realm (in fact, he had tea with them every other Tuesday).

He remembered everything. It was a blessing and a curse. 

One of the  _ blessings _ was that he remembered his children. Many gods forgot about their demigod offsprings, and he was not one of them.

One of said children stood before him now, feathery black hair, tired eyes. Nico was one of his favorites. Although, he was a little… uh, not-very-nice to Nico at first, he was trying to be better.

His son came to him, clutching the hand of a boy with golden curls and an orange shirt.

Another son of Apollo.

This one was smiling shyly, gripping Hades’ son’s hand. Less sure of himself than Orpheus. But perhaps more sensible.

“Father,” said Nico, “This is Will Solace. He’s my, um—we’re uh—”

“I’m his boyfriend,” Will said.

“Yeah,” Nico was red and looking at Will with soft eyes.

Hades smiled. He noticed that the bags under Nico’s eyes were less prominent, that his smile looked more natural and less forced. 

Hades had seen a lot in his long, long life. But so rarely had he seen one of his children happy.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!! maybe leave a kudos and a comment? love yall <3


End file.
